Outer space

L3Harris developing a constellation of small spy satellites for U.S. Air Force

L3Harris Technologies has launched the first satellite of a remote sensing constellation it is developing for the U.S. Air Force.

In a July 6 news release, L3Harris said the constellation of small satellites will provide imagery to military operators on the ground. “The company will task, command and control the satellite system, as well as perform on-board processing of data to deliver imagery products directly to warfighters.”

Ed Zoiss, president of L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems, told SpaceNews that the company deployed the first satellite of the constellation two years after receiving a fixed-price contract from the Air Force. The program is classified, so details such as the value of the contract, the date of the launch or the vehicle that flew the satellite cannot be disclosed.

Zoiss said that despite the sensitive nature of the program, the Air Force allowed L3Harris to reveal its existence as an example of a “responsive space” system that has moved at a pace rarely seen in military space programs.

The idea of responsive space — a shift from large expensive satellites that take a decade or longer to develop to more nimble systems — has been talked about inside DoD and the intelligence community for over a decade but change has been slow, said Zoiss.